Want to put up your own business?

By Karen Galarpe

If you’re tired of the rat race in the corporate world and want to be your own boss, consider putting up your own business. Here are a few tips to make your first business venture a success.

1. Find your passion. What is it that you are crazy about? If it’s cross-stitching or scrapbooking, you may want to put up a store offering materials for these hobbies. Or if you love to bake, then supply baked goods to coffee shops or put up your own dessert kiosk in the mall. Jay de Leon, president of Bombproof Gear Designs and Stoke Inc., loves the outdoors and directed that passion into a business manufacturing and selling outdoor clothing and gear.

2. Study the market. Find out what products or services are being offered in the market in the industry you’re looking at. See what unique selling point you can offer.

3. Ask for advice. Seek a mentor who has successfully put up his own business and ask for tips on how you can achieve similar success. Ask for hard lessons learned too, and aim to avoid making similar mistakes.

4. Fine-tune your business plan. Put everything on paper and see if you have covered every aspect of the business. Not only should this cover your financials (working capital requirements), it should also detail your marketing plan.

5. Be fearless. It takes guts to go out there and show your stuff. Don’t dillydally. The more you do so, the chances are higher that someone will beat you to it.